All's Fair in Love and War
by What a Rubber Chicken
Summary: Marinette has finally decided to give up on Adrien! She's going to try dating Luka instead. Unfortunately, right about the same time, Adrien decides HE wants to start dating Luka! The only solution? They declare war on each other! Unfortunately, lingering feelings and their own sweet natures are hindering their efforts. Can they find a solution that will work out well for everyone?
1. Chapter 1

_This story began as a crackpost response to Captain Hardrock called "Mr. Steal Ya Boi." From there, it kinda got out of control. Lukadrienette endgame._

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Let The Games Begin**

"Alya, I think I'm gonna do it!" Marinette said, determination flowing through her as she sat down beside her best friend.

"All right! You go, girl!" Alya cheered. Then she paused. "What exactly are you doing?"

Marinette took a deep breath, pumping herself up. "I think it's finally time—"

"OMG, YOU'RE GONNA ASK ADRIEN OUT?"

"—to get over Adrien."

"_What?!"_

"What?"

Alya and Marinette looked at each other in shock. Alya blinked at her friend.

"Did I just hear that right?" she asked slowly. "You're—you're…."

"I'm going to ask out somebody other than Adrien," Marinette nodded firmly. "This ridiculous crush has gone on long enough, and it's clear he only sees me as a friend."

"Yeah, but—"

"And, let's just say I've found someone just as sweet," Marinette added, smiling happily. Just thinking about him cheered her up.

_Luka._

"Luka?" another voice exclaimed. Marinette jumped. She was certain she hadn't said his name out loud! Oh, Adrien and Nino were coming in. Adrien was blushing and Nino was the one who'd said…

"Seriously, man?"

"He's really nice," Adrien said shyly, blushing even more. "And I thought we could get together and maybe practice some songs… or something."

"That 'something' being taking him out to dinner?" Nino asked, grinning slyly. Adrien was now bright red.

"Well, we could get hungry!" he insisted, not looking at his best friend.

"Yeah, sure…," Nino teased. Then he laughed and punched Adrien on the shoulder. "I'm just joking, man. Go for it! But why're you asking _me_ what he likes to eat? HEY, JULEKA!" he called up to the dark-haired girl. She broke off her conversation with Rose and raised an eyebrow at them.

"What does your brother like to eat?" Nino asked loudly, despite Adrien trying to shush him. "And, more importantly, does he like guys?!"

"NINO!" Adrien cried, mortified.

"He's bi," Juleka said, looking between the two boys and shrugging.

"Really?" Adrien asked, hopeful.

"Really?" Marinette whispered, aghast.

"Everyone quiet down and get to your seats!" Miss Bustier called, bringing the class to order. Adrien and Nino quickly sat down, never realizing that Marinette had gone still behind them.

"Girl, are you all right?" Alya whispered.

"No, I'm not all right!" Marinette hissed back. "Not only am I going to lose Luka, but I'm going to lose him to _Adrien_! I can't compare to a supermodel!"

"You really think that's gonna matter to Luka?" Alya asked quietly, giving her friend a pointed look.

"No. You're right. He'd never be that shallow," Marinette agreed, her determination rising again. "And I already know that he likes me, at least. He even texted me and asked me out on a date after that ice rink debacle." She clenched her fist.

"No. No way am I gonna lose them both. There's only one thing to do."

"I smell disaster."

"I'm going to compete with Adrien for Luka's affection!"

Alya banged her head on the desk. Neither of them saw Adrien stiffen and glance back at them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Enter a New Challenger**

After school, Marinette was one of the first ones out the door. She waved to Alya, who still looked disappointed that her ship _Adrinette_ would never be sailing. Still, her bestie waved back and gave her a thumbs up for good luck. Marinette would've waited and walked with Juleka, but the goth girl was headed over to Rose's house to do homework and watch movies.

Marinette smiled and sighed at the thought. _It was so romantic, being with somebody you loved, even for just the little things! Especially if that someone loved you back!_ she added, pushing her mind away from Adrien again.

_Time to move onto greener pastures._

_Or rather, bluer waters._

She giggled at the thought of the soft smile in Luka's eyes and picked up her pace.

However, she frowned when she got to the Couffaine houseboat. _Why was Adrien's car here? Yup, complete with bodyguard waiting in the driver's seat. _

_Oh. _

_Oh no!_

_Maybe—maybe Adrien just wanted to talk about the band?_

_Or maybe, he'd already decided to make his move!_

Marinette sprinted on board, barely dodging all the messes and waving at Anarka as she flew down below. Luka's room, Luka's room—there! The door was slightly ajar.

_Oh no, voices!_

"—so, I'd really like it if you went with me," Adrien's voice said, sounding shy.

Marinette grit her teeth. _She couldn't waste another minute! She'd lose them both!_

"Oh, wow, Adrien! I—"

She burst inside.

"LUKA, I WANT TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU!" she declared.

The two boys inside froze at her sudden appearance. Marinette wilted a bit when she saw that they were already holding hands. _Was she too late? And really, bursting in on their conversation? She knew better than that!_

"Um—uh, if that's all right with you, that is," she stammered, backtracking.

A part of her noticed in despair that Adrien was glaring at her. Luka, however, looked delighted.

"Hi, Marinette!" he said brightly. "How great to see you again!"

"Yeah," Adrien grumbled. "Great."

"And of course, you know Adrien."

"Of course," Marinette agreed, feeling very awkward. She waved. Adrien waved back, but his other hand maintained a grip on Luka.

"Adrien was just asking me out to lunch," Luka said, looking at the blond fondly. "And I have to say, I'm honored."

"Does that mean you'll say yes?" Adrien asked hopefully, taking both of Luka's hands in his and giving the other boy his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Well, here's the thing," Luka said, looking uncertain and glancing between them. "I already asked Marinette if she'd go out with me again after that date at the ice rink. She never said yes, though, (until now,) so if she's okay with it…."

"I am most certainly _NOT_ okay with it!" Marinette exclaimed, folding her arms. _She'd __**seen**__ that guilty look Adrien had just given her! He'd __**known**__! He'd known she was going to ask Luka out! And he'd come here to try to steal him away!_ "I _do_ want to date you, Luka! It just took me some time to figure it out!"

"Oh," Luka said, blinking in surprise. He glanced at Adrien again, then back to her. "Are you… sure?"

"Absolutely," Marinette said firmly.

She knew why Luka was confused. He was so good at reading people, he'd figured out her crush on Adrien. But now, here she was, declaring her feelings for another boy. Inwardly, she willed her heartsong to change, so Luka could hear it.

_No more Adrien. No more 'just friends.' I want something better than that! I want more!_

Luka blinked at her again. A slow smile bloomed on his face and he held out his hand to her.

"Excuse me," Adrien suddenly interjected, looking extremely put out. "I mean, no offense, Marinette, but we were kind of in the middle of a conversation here!"

"And, no offense to _you_, Adrien," she shot back, stepping forward and grabbing Luka's arm, attaching herself to the older boy, "but Luka and I are already past due for a conversation of our own! (And I know you overheard me planning to ask him out!)" she added in a hiss.

"Just like _you_ overheard _me_!" Adrien retorted, keeping a firm hold of Luka's other arm as he glared at her.

"Okay…," Luka laughed nervously. "You guys are fighting over me? That's… great. I mean, I feel so loved! But—"

"And you _should_ feel loved, Luka!" Marinette said, giving his arm a squeeze. "All the time! Every day! Not just when _someone's_ _father_ won't even let him out to see you!" She shot Adrien a glare.

"Wha—?!" Adrien sputtered, enraged. "What about _you_, Miss _Always_ _Late_?!"

"And the good feeling's gone," Luka muttered, drooping.

"Things come up!" Marinette shrieked.

"Oh, and _I'm_ not allowed to have a life?!"

"GUYS!" Luka yelled. He wrenched away from them. They both stared back at him with wide eyes. "Look, I like you both!" he said. "And I know you like each other, at least as friends. _Good _friends, who were able to go on a double date together before, right?" he pressed.

"Right," Adrien agreed, slumping.

"I guess," Marinette said, also drooping.

_She couldn't believe it. She'd yelled at Adrien! And about his father, no less! Geez, she felt awful. She needed to apologize to him for that!_

"And I know you're both kind, amazing people," Luka went on. "So, would it be any surprise if I said I want to date _both_ of you?"

"What?!"

"Huh?!"

Luka grinned at them and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I just… I can't help it! You're both so incredible—and, let's face it, neither of you is really behaving normally right now. I've never seen you guys snap at each other like this! So… I propose a deal!" he said, a lightbulb going off in his head. "I'll date both of you, and see who I click better with. Afterwards, there'll be no hard feelings and we'll all remain friends! Deal?"

"You—you wanna date us _both_?" Marinette repeated slowly, her brain still short-circuiting on that little fact.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I don't have a preference on gender or anything, and—"

"Deal!" Adrien said confidently, nodding at the other boy.

Marinette gaped at him. "You-you're okay with this?!"

"Of course," he said, giving her a triumphant smirk. "Of course, if you don't feel up to it, _Marinette_, feel free to forfeit now…."

She glared at her new rival, feeling her competitive streak rear its ugly head.

"Deal," she said firmly, clutching Luka's arm a bit tighter. "I'm perfectly cool with giving you some time to make up your mind."

"Awesome!" Luka cheered. "Now…," he glanced at them glaring each other down. "I think we might need to set some ground rules."

"Whatever you want, _sweetie_," Marinette simpered, batting her eyelashes at Luka.

"Uh… yeah! Um… bro," Adrien said, squeezing Luka's hand and fishing for an appropriate nickname. Marinette snickered at the lame attempt.

"First and foremost," Luka said, extracting himself from their grip. "You're not allowed to try to hurt each other like this anymore. Even now, your sniping at each other is giving me a headache." He rubbed his temples.

Marinette and Adrien winced. Neither of them had meant to make him feel uncomfortable. Luka relaxed as the atmosphere calmed down.

"Is that okay?" he pressed. "Can we all be friends again, at least?"

The two younger teenagers reluctantly agreed.

"Ok. Next rule," Luka thought for a moment. "I'll try to spend an equal amount of time with both of you so nobody feels left out—"

"I object!" Marinette said, raising her hand. She gestured to Adrien. "I mocked it earlier—and I'm sorry for that Adrien, I really am—but the truth is, Mr. Agreste isn't going to let him out very often, Luka. And I'd really like to see you more than once a week." she added, looking at him hopefully.

Luka looked Adrien, who nodded sadly and hung his head, confirming Marinette's words. He thought about it for a moment. "Well, then, Marinette. Would you agree to not stand in the way of the dates Adrien and I _can_ go on?"

"Sure," she agreed.

_They were gonna be few and far between anyway. Mr. Agreste hadn't let him go out for __**ice cream**__, for crying out loud!_

"Adrien? Do you agree?"

"Well… can I still text you? And call you?" Adrien asked shyly.

"Of course!" Luka said, beaming. "Call, text, video chat! You just gotta let me go on dates with Marinette every so often, okay?" He said with a wink. Adrien blushed and nodded.

"And how long is this 'trial period' gonna last?" Marinette asked, still feeling uncomfortable.

"Until I pick, I guess," Luka said with a shrug. "Or until one of you decides I'm not worth it anymore. How about we start with a couple of weeks, ok?"

They both agreed_. Surely this would be all right…._

"And… to be clear," Luka said, with a smirk on his face. "Are you two sure you don't wanna date each other as well?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT."

"NOPE, YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE FOR ME, LUKA!"

Luka chuckled at their red faces as they refused to look at each other.

* * *

_A/N: I don't know if I warned you all, but this isn't going to just be a fun fic. It's going to have some angst and drama too! This is definitely not my idea of an ideal start to a relationship! That's the point! More will be explained in the upcoming chapters!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – The Solution That Nobody Likes**

"Nope. Nada! No way, girl!" Alya exclaimed, shaking her head. "I don't like this one bit!"

"But it's the only way I can date Luka!" Marinette whined, holding her head in her hands. The rest of their girl friends were also shaking their heads at her. "If I'd said no, Adrien would've won by default!"

"Then you should've let him go!" Alix yelled. "There are plenty of other fish in the sea!"

"But _Luka's_ the one I want!"

"And just last week, you swore _Adrien_ was the one you wanted," Mylene pointed out.

"I know," Marinette groaned. "My heart's so fickle… I'm a terrible person!"

"No, no… There's nothing wrong with letting go of a crush," Alya cooed, sitting beside her best friend and patting her back as she sobbed. "I think we're all just afraid you're going to get your heart broken even worse by this situation."

"Exactly," Alix said, folding her arms. She looked at Juleka. "What is _up_ with your bro, Jules? What kind of crap mind-game _is_ this?!"

Juleka shrugged and mumbled something too soft for them to hear. Rose gave her a hug.

"He's never done something like this before," the little blonde explained, still holding her girlfriend close. "Usually he just flirts with a person until he loses interest. I don't know if he's ever even had a steady girlfriend before. Or boyfriend for that matter. But he really did seem to like both Marinette and Adrien the last time we saw them all together."

"Maybe he's serious," Juleka muttered. "Maybe he's not." She gave her friends an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I don't know what to tell you."

"It's all right, Juleka," Marinette said, wiping her tears and giving her friend a smile. "I guess I'll learn more when I actually go on a date with him. But don't worry, girls. If I think anything's off, I'll end it, then and there. Promise."

"You'd better!" Mylene said, as they all came in for a group hug.

"We'll be here for you, no matter what," Alya said.

"Oh, and Juleka? If he's doing this to play with her heart, I'm gonna smash that guitar of his," Alix added while still in the hug, giving her friend a not-so-innocent smile. "Just a heads up."

Juleka smiled. Then her gaze hardened. "If he's doing this to play with either of their hearts, I'll serve it up to you on a silver platter."

They all laughed at that, but Marinette made a mental note to warn Luka if they ever broke up.

Then Rose addressed the _other_ elephant in the room.

"So, what are you going to do about Adrien?"

* * *

Plagg smirked at his wielder as the boy paced the floor furiously. "_So_, you're over Ladybug now," he drawled.

Adrien stopped short, took a deep breath, and then went right back to pacing. "That's right," he said.

"And you don't wanna date the Sword Queen."

"Kagami's just a friend."

"Uh huh," Plagg said, taking another bite of his cheese. "And your other _friend_… with the pigtails…."

Adrien stopped again, his hands balling into fists. "You mean Marinette," he said, grinding his teeth.

"You're not interested in her either?"

"No!" Adrien exclaimed. "Ugh! I am _so_ _over_ girls! All of them! All they care about is themselves_! I can't believe she'd do this to me! I thought she was nice!"_

"Because the ice rink wasn't enough of a clue that _she_ might be interested in the blueberry boy too?" Plagg sneered.

"His name is Luka." Adrien growled.

"And _her_ name is Marinette," Plagg teased. "And if it weren't for _you_, they'd be K-I-S-S-I—"

"I get it!" Adrien threw himself down into his computer chair, letting it spin as he tried to clear his head. "But if he really wanted to date _her_, he wouldn't have said yes to _me_," he reasoned. "So, I must still have a chance."

"Yeah, a fat one."

"I can't have Ladybug. I know that. She'll never let me in while we're supposed to be doing superhero stuff. But I refuse to lose Luka too!" Adrien said, his determination rising. He turned a pleading eye to his kwami. "Plagg, you've gotta help me seduce Luka!"

"Not for all the cheese in the world," Plagg deadpanned. "I don't _do_ romance, kid. You know that."

"C'mon Plagg," Adrien moaned. "This is hard enough, realizing I'm into guys… Now I gotta compete with a girl for my first boyfriend?"

"I thought the blueberry didn't want you guys to fight."

"That's when we're around him," Adrien said, narrowing his eyes. "Anything else is free game."

After all, Marinette had an advantage; she'd already _had_ a date with Luka and _she_ didn't have an overbearing father breathing down her neck. If Adrien wanted to win, he was gonna have to get serious.

* * *

Luka closed his eyes, letting the music wash over him, soothing his soul. _There, the ever-rolling ocean in wave after wave of scales… cresting up and down, up and down. A minor chord; a sad wind sobbing over the waves. And… increase the tempo, switch back to a major key—like the sun breaking through the clouds…._

A fist came down on top of his head.

"OW!" he yelped as his beautiful song abruptly ended on a sour note. He opened his eyes to see Juleka standing over him with a furious look on her face.

_Uh oh, the jig is up,_ he thought wryly, rubbing his head.

"Explain," she demanded.

Luka sighed. Years ago, he would've said something like,_ "it's called a hello, little sis. It's how normal people greet their siblings. You wanna try it sometime?" _or, if he was feeling mischievous_ "explain what? I dunno what you're talking about!"_

But no. He'd grown up with Juleka. He knew her quirks, and how badly she hated to have to explain herself. Or talk at all, really. And it wasn't like he didn't know what she was talking about….

"Marinette told on me, huh?"

Her gaze hardened. _Yes, then._

"I'm not doing it to hurt her," Luka said, sighing again. "I really like her. And Adrien." He looked up at her hopefully. Juleka just raised an eyebrow. He chuckled. "And yes, I know I'm being greedy, dating them both. It's just—" He licked his lips and looked away, unable to go on.

Juleka seemed to understand. She sat down beside him, and when he finally looked at her, her gaze had softened.

"Endgame?" she asked softly.

He swallowed, his heart tightening. "Have you ever heard a really beautiful song?" he asked, trying to explain. "And you hear it, and you memorize it, but every time you try to play it… it just… comes out wrong?" He looked at her helplessly. "I can _hear_ them, Jules. Their songs. They're beautiful, and complex, and they fit together… so perfectly…."

He clenched his fist to stop himself from trying to play it for her. She needed an explanation, not a demonstration. Words. He needed better _words_!

"But every time they come together, it's like something's off. Tempo. A note. It's like they're trying to be someone else, or…." _Ugh. He hated words!_ He strummed a chord, and then intentionally plucked a discord. "They're off, and they shouldn't be!"

"You're trying to get them together," Juleka said quietly, her eyes wide.

Luka's heart clenched again. _Something he dared not admit aloud…. _

He nodded. "It's what they need, Jules."

Juleka stared at him for a moment.

"And what about _you_?" she asked softly. Luka looked away. There it was, the pain twisting down on his heart. _A minor fall. The catch before the release…._ He could hear heartsongs, but his sister could dig right down to the true heart of the matter.

_No. _

"I'll be fine," he said, giving her a fake smile that neither of them believed. He played his own special melody. A-minor chord progression, finishing it into a g-major.

_See, little sis? This gonna end happily._

His hand hit another minor chord before he could stop it.

_Or at least bittersweet._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Luka Discovers a Problem**

Luka stormed into Juleka's bedroom and slammed the door behind him, leaning against it for support. It was only five minutes after his first date with Marinette and—

"I'm doomed," he said, panic in his eyes.

His little sister had the nerve to chuckle and turn back to her tablet where she was FaceTiming her girlfriend.

"I gotta go," she said to Rose, unable to hide her smile. "Talk later?"

"Okay," Rose chirped happily. She waved to Luka as best she could from her screen. "I wanna hear details about your date later, Luka!"

He waved back, feeling weak. She and Juleka blew each other kisses goodbye, and the screen went dark as his sister turned to him again, an unholy grin still on her face.

"So?"

"You're enjoying this!" he cried.

"Yup."

"Jules…," he whimpered, running his fingers through his hair. Part of him wanted to run to his guitar to work this out, but he had a sinking feeling if he did, a certain pair of songs would come out, blending themselves together as naturally as breathing. And he could not _take_ that right now!

"I give up. You were right. They're perfect. They're _too_ perfect! They're—"

"Start from the beginning," Juleka said, smirking at him.

"The beginning? Right, my date with Adrien yesterday." Luka started pacing. "What can I say? It was perfect! We had a jam session my bedroom—he followed my lead like a pro—taught me some chords on the keyboard—let me show him some tricks on my guitar…."

He paused, his cheeks warming at the memory of guiding Adrien's hands along the strings; the warmth of his body pressed against the blond's. Adrien's bright laughter. His soft blush. The smell of him, God, the smell—

"I _hate_ Adrien, the fragrance," he finally confessed to Juleka. "It's good, and seductive, and fresh, but it's got this underlying smell of old cheese or something…." He looked up to see Juleka biting on her knuckle to keep from laughing at him. "What?! You know something?!"

"That's _Adrien_," she said, her eyes sparkling with laughter. "Nino thinks his dad works him harder than he lets on, and he doesn't have time to shower. Then he takes showers whenever he can, even at awkward times."

Oh. That made sense. It had already been a week and, true to Marinette's prediction, he'd only gotten to see the blond once. Of course, their texting and calls had made up for that. Adrien was always so happy and eager to see him! Besides, it wasn't a _completely_ bad smell. Kind of an earthy, grounding tone that reminded you that this kid wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.

_And he wanted more of it. He didn't actually hate it at all…._ The thought made him whimper.

"But I wanted to know about the date with _Marinette_," Juleka said, bringing him back to the present. "I was _here_ for your date with Adrien. Everybody on board could hear you two laughing. And flirting."

"Right. Um…," Luka licked his lips. Because really, there was no other way to say this…. "It was _perfect_!" he groaned, flopping face first onto his sister's bed. He grabbed her pillow and buried his face in it, hoping to drown out Juleka's laughter.

But it _had_ been. They'd gone to dinner at a little café. Small, quiet, and with live music that had immediately caught his interest. Marinette had read him like a book, ready to pause their conversation whenever he got too absorbed in the melody, joking with him, making him feel both at ease and energetic at the same time… she'd even offered to dance with him when the band struck up a new song just as they were leaving, so he could stay and listen to it without feeling awkward.

Then they'd walked home, holding hands and chatting about their lives. It had been wonderful, to see her eyes light up whenever she talked about her passions, and to hear her heart singing in satisfaction and knowing—_knowing_—that she was happy because she was with him. She was so sweet, so kind, _so beautiful…_ the idea that such a perfect creature wanted to be with _him…._

And she'd given him the sweetest kiss on the cheek when he'd left her at her doorstep. Oh, how badly he'd wanted to turn his head and give her a real kiss! He was pretty sure she'd wanted it too; from the wistful smile on her face as she'd waved goodbye.

It was a heady feeling, knowing you were wanted.

His little sister listened to him talk, her smug smile never once leaving her face.

"Jules," he finally groaned. "I tried. I really did! But every time I'd mention Marinette to Adrien, or Adrien to Marinette, they'd just smile at me and change the subject! It's like they don't even _want_ to be together any more, and I know _that_ can't be true!"

Juleka chuckled. _Oh, he had no idea._ Most of her class had been trying to get the lovebirds together for over a year now, and the two oblivious idiots hadn't caught on once.

Poor Luka. It was going to take more than a measly couple of dates to get _those_ two together. That was, if he even wanted to give them up anymore. Which, judging from the way he was still rambling on about how great they were….

She shook her head. _They were all idiots._

* * *

Luka was even more sure he was _doomed_ the next day when Marinette showed up at the houseboat wearing the cutest little Chat Noir-inspired dress. Sleeveless and black, with little green paw prints dotting the edges; she looked adorable!

They spent a relaxing few minutes just chatting about the superheroes of Paris (he regretted not being able to tell her about Viperion, but he did share her respect for Chat Noir). Marinette was surprisingly well-informed on the things the superheroes did, but he supposed that was due to the fact that her best friend ran the Ladyblog.

Then, Luka had to apologize to take a quick call from Adrien.

"Hey!" the blond said, sounding excited. "My dad is in Milan for the weekend and Nathalie said it was okay for you to come over and spend a few hours with me!"

"That's great!" Luka exclaimed, knowing just how rare an opportunity like this was. Still, his heart fell. "But I'm kinda with Marinette right now, and she just got here…."

"Oh," Adrien said, sounding disappointed. "Okay then, I understand—"

"Hey, why don't we all hang out together?" Luka suggested, a plan forming in his head.

"All of us?" Adrien said, sounding hesitant. Still, in the end he agreed. So did Marinette (even if her smile looked a little strained), and few minutes later found them in front of the Agreste Manor, being welcomed in by Adrien's bodyguard.

"I trust you will all behave yourselves appropriately," Nathalie said sharply. They quickly reassured her that they would, and retreated to Adrien's room.

"I do _not_ get your dad, Adrien," Luka said, marveling at the set up that was Adrien's room. "I mean, he wants to keep you safe from the world, but you have a skate ramp and a rock wall?"

"Hey, I'm not gonna complain about it," Adrien shrugged. "The last thing I want is him shutting me in here with nothing but educational books and a locked internet."

"I'm more confused about the zip line," Marinette said, also glancing around. She blushed when they both looked at her. "I mean, the rock wall works on skills and muscles that could be useful, especially escaping akumas, and with the skate ramp, I mean, he wants you to be healthy and do sports—but the zipline? What does he want you learn with it? To not be afraid of heights?"

"But I'm _not_ afraid of heights," Adrien said, looking thoughtful.

"Maybe he wants you to learn how to hold on tight?" Luka suggested. He gave Adrien a grin. "Could be useful when clinging to _Ladybug_…."

Adrien sputtered and blushed, but Marinette flushed bright red.

"So, uh, what do we want to do?" she asked, obviously fishing for a new subject.

"How about Ultimate Mecha Strike?" Luka suggested, getting an idea. "You two can play each other, and then I can play the winner."

To his surprise, Adrien groaned in dismay and Marinette grinned triumphantly.

"That sounds like a _fantastic_ idea!" she said eagerly.

"Luka," Adrien whined, "I don't think you understand just how _good_ she is at that game…."

"Giving up already?" Marinette said sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at Adrien.

Adrien scowled at her. "No," he said, his competitive streak kicking in, "in fact, I think that sounds great! I've really leveled up since the last time we played! You're on!"

Luka grinned as they both made for the couch, continuing to banter and throw out really bad trash talk (so bad, it had them all laughing. Adrien's "get your popcorn ready, cause I'm gonna put on a show!" was the worst, but Marinette glancing around the room to casually say, "just looking to see who's coming in second," was also pretty good). In fact, Adrien and Marinette made it through three whole rounds before they remembered he was supposed to play the winner. Adrien handed over his controller with a little pout, and Luka rewarded him with a kiss for being such a good sport.

"Hey! What about a kiss for the winner?!" Marinette demanded.

"Only if you beat me!" Luka said with a wink.

He ended up owing her two kisses. That girl was a beast on the controller.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Feathers and Glitter and Ice Cream, Oh My!**

When Marinette suggested a walking tour of the city as a date for him and Luka to go on, Adrien had been suspicious. Luka had been excited, of course, he was so eager for them to actually be friends.

"Isn't this great, Adrien?" the musician had said eagerly. "Marinette's looking out for us!"

So, Adrien had had no choice but to agree.

It turned out to be Mr. Ramier's new "History of Pigeons;" part of Ladybug and Chat Noir's attempt to stop the man from becoming akumatized every other week and give him an outlet for his strange attachment to the winged pests. Fortunately for Adrien, Chat Noir knew about this program. It was easy for him to realize which walking tour she'd suggested, bring antihistamines, and still have a surprisingly good time with his boyfriend.

In fact, now that Adrien was in his room reflecting, he really _owed_ Marinette one.

And any minute now, his own gift to Marinette would be delivered. He sat back in his chair and cackled like a villain. Plagg looked up to roll his eyes.

"Boy, you are _not_ good at that."

Sure enough, Marinette came to school the next day with traces of glitter still in her hair and on her face and hands. Adrien smirked, especially when she marched right up to him.

"Thanks so much for the _special package_, Adrien," she said through gritted teeth.

"I thought maybe I'd give you a little help designing your next piece for Audrey Bourgeois," he said, giving her an innocent smile. Then he outright smirked at her. "Aww, you've still got some glitter in your hair! You look like a fairy princess!"

"Thanks, Adrien. I _feel_ like a fairy princess," she replied, sticking her nose up at him and heading to her seat. Adrien snickered to himself.

"Girl, what happened?" he heard Alya whisper behind him as her best friend took her seat.

"Adrien sent me a glitter bomb!" Marinette hissed. "I spent all night cleaning it up and it's _still_ everywhere!"

"Dude, seriously?" Nino whispered, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Just a little friendly gift between enemies," Adrien said, still grinning.

"I'll get you for this, Agreste," Marinette growled, just as Miss Bustier walked in.

"Ooo, I'm so _scared_…."

* * *

"Ok, girls, let's talk," Alya said, calling their meeting to order. They had picked their meeting spot carefully; on the other side of the street, both Marinette and Adrien were attempting to get Andre's ice cream with Luka. "How do we feel about… this?" she asked, gesturing to the scene in front of them.

"Well," Mylene said slowly. "Aside from tripping each other in gym, writing passive-aggressive poetry in lit class, and having to be separated in chemistry so they don't blow up the building, they're not being openly hostile to each other. Mostly." She winced as Marinette carefully stepped in between Adrien and Luka to offer the blue-haired boy some of her ice cream. Adrien countered by somehow side-stepping her and putting his hand on her waist at just the right moment to make her spin, allowing him to get closer to Luka.

It almost looked like they were dancing.

"This is the weirdest thing I've _ever_ seen," Alix confessed. "I'm not sure if I should root for someone or just sit back and eat popcorn. Juleka, any word on how your brother feels?"

"He's still trying to get them together," Juleka said, frowning. "But…."

"But?" Alya prompted.

"I dunno."

"He's obviously in love with them both!" Rose chirped, gasping eagerly when Luka gave each of his lovers one of his spoons—or rather, shoved the tiny spoons in their mouths to stop them from arguing. All three of them burst out laughing at the same time.

"It'd be cute if there wasn't still so much tension there," Alix agreed, watching as Marinette and Adrien both attempted to feed Luka a bite from their own ice cream. The result? Luka got ice cream on his nose and cheek but none in his mouth, and now Adrien and Marinette were accusing each other of jabbing him too hard with the spoon.

"I think they might need an intervention," Mylene suggested.

Alya sighed, still nervously watching the trio across the street.

"All in favor?"

* * *

"Chat, would you tell on me if I threw someone in the river?" Ladybug asked absently that night on patrol.

Chat Noir choked and howled with laughter. "Have you been akumatized, my lady?" he joked. "That's not like you."

"Yeah, well, some people deserve it!" she growled, looking out over the water. She glanced up as he came over to sit beside her on the rooftop.

"I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me," he grinned, nudging her shoulder with his own. She grinned back at him.

"You've got somebody you wanna dunk too?"

"Only a little," he admitted, thinking about his war with Marinette. God, she was so stubborn! "I'd pluck her right back out again, of course!"

"Of course," Ladybug agreed. "It's not like I want him to drown."

"Just cool their heads…."

"See reason for a minute…."

They looked at each other and laughed.

"If it weren't for your use of pronouns, I'd say we wanted to dunk the same person," Chat said.

Ladybug sighed. "It's such a bad situation, Chat," she said, looking mournful. "And I'm not acting at all like a superhero should."

"Well, sometimes its okay to be selfish," he said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to unconsciously condemn his own actions, but the more he thought about what was happening… _NO! No, he had to stay strong! Wasn't that what everybody was always telling him? That he had to fight for what he wanted and not be such a pushover?_

"Still, it's nice to know you've got my back," she said, glancing up at him. Chat sucked in his breath. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight—_so beautiful—okay, maybe he wasn't as over her as he'd hoped!_

"I've always got your back, LB," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to give her quick squeeze. To his surprise and delight, she leaned into it, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Tell you what," he added, eager to keep the good vibes going, "you tell me about this boy who broke your heart and I'll dunk him for you!"

Ladybug laughed. "Don't tempt me!"

"Then you can dunk my target! No one will _ever_ suspect us!"

"Don't you dare tempt me!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Upping the Ante**

Luka lay on his bed, absently fingering chords on an invisible guitar. He'd play his real one, but… Mom was still sleeping, and she'd had a long night. He didn't want to bother her. He supposed he could always go to school early (the band director was always willing to open rooms for extra practice), but he didn't want anyone to see this look on his face. They might worry.

And he didn't deserve anyone's worry! Or sympathy! Or even pity! He'd done this to himself. He'd gone in knowing—KNOWING—that he was gonna have to lose this game in order to win! He'd been expecting stammered excuses—"It's not you, Luka, it's me"—and blushing as they glanced at each other nervously, having realized how jealous that they were that the other person was dating someone else. He'd expected to be magnanimous and give them his blessing to date each other instead, all the while secretly smiling and maybe giving Jules a high-five.

Instead, he'd turned them against each other! They might be civil when they were with him, but Juleka reported that during class these days they were barely tolerating each other; often sniping and making off-hand remarks about the other person. And not in the nice sense.

_This wasn't what he wanted! He'd wanted them to fall in love, not fall in hate!_

And now, _now_ he didn't even know if he _could_ let them go! He loved being with them, _with both of them _so much! Each separate date was a new adventure, learning about them and actually being _understood_ for once—because for once, someone listened to him instead of just expecting him to listen all the time! They were so good, so nice, and they'd certainly had some interesting lives—he still didn't know what the heck they saw in _him_….

And when they were all together, there were fights and growling, yes. But there were also shining moments where they just relaxed and let themselves be natural, and _they fit_. His heart sang with happiness, they fit so well.

How could he let them go when he wanted to gather them both into his arms and beg them not to leave him? If he hadn't been waiting for the other shoe to drop, he'd be having the time of his life right now!

… Maybe that was it. Maybe his plan was out of whack because he'd was being selfish. Maybe some greater power had seen how much he actually wanted to stay with both of them and had decided to punish him.

_But how did he fix it?_

"What do I do now?" he moaned, covering his eyes with an arm.

"You can start by getting ready for school," Juleka called from the next room. "You're going to be late!"

Luka chuckled helplessly. "Thank you for being the voice of reason in my despair, Jules."

His little sister and came to lean against his bedframe.

"If I'm the voice of reason here, you're totally screwed."

Luka couldn't help but agree.

* * *

Marinette walked into the classroom, both surprised and not to see Chloé and Adrien talking together. Nino and Alya were also cuddling up cozily, watching a video on the DJ's phone. Adrien caught sight of her and nodded stiffly. She nodded back.

They still had nothing more than an uneasy truce between them.

The thought of it still made her mad. _Adrien Agreste._ Local rich boy and hottie. He could have anybody he wanted in the world! _Anybody_! And who did he choose? Her boyfriend.

Well, okay. So, Luka hadn't _technically_ been her boyfriend at the time. But Adrien had known she was interested! And he'd still gone after Luka! What a jerk. She couldn't believe she'd ever thought Adrien was nice.

Now, everything she did had turned into a competition. If she got a date, so did Adrien. She'd baked Luka some cookies the other day, and the next time she saw him, he was gushing over the brand new speaker Adrien had bought to replace the one they'd blown out. She couldn't count the number of times their texting chats had been cut short because Adrien suddenly called, but in Luka's defense, he always answered when she called too…

Ugh! It was so frustrating! And the center of all this frustration was Adrien!

Now if she could only get rid of this ache in her heart whenever she thought about him…

She took a deep breath to steady herself. No matter. She had bigger and better things to do! She pulled out her purse. Safely tucked inside was her secret weapon: two backstage passes to Jagged Stone's next concert!

Penny herself had dropped them off last night, saying they were a thank-you for everything Marinette had done for the musician. She'd also hinted that Jagged wanted to talk to her backstage after the show. Maybe it was another commission! If anything, she knew Luka would love to get the chance to meet his idol. And she'd even started working on some matching outfits for them to wear when they were there! It was going to be awesome!

She grinned and gave the two tickets a kiss for good luck, before tucking them safely back in her purse. She'd ask Luka to go with her as soon as school was done. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face!

"Wow, Chloé, really?!" Adrien was exclaiming. Marinette glanced down at them. He was holding something in his hand. She rolled her eyes. The mayor's little princess had probably bought him something expensive.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know you're a fan," Chloé said, looking smug. "Daddy gets tickets all the time, but I can't stand all the screaming. So, you go ahead, Adrikins. I already cleared it with your father. And why don't you take that new friend of yours? The blue-haired boy?"

Marinette felt her heart stop, especially when Chloé glanced back at her with a smirk.

_She __**knew**__. Chloé knew. She had to. Adrien must've told her! She knew about the situation with Luka, and how Marinette was now competing with Adrien. She knew everything! And she— _

And Marinette had a feeling she knew exactly what the little brat had just given Adrien. Jagged was still staying at Le Grand Paris Hotel, so wouldn't be too surprising if the blonde had happened to overhear something.

"Wow, thank you so much, Chloé!" Adrien was gushing, holding two backstage passes. "Luka's gonna love this!"

Marinette barely refrained from screaming.

* * *

"Hey, Adrien, can we talk?" she asked later at lunch break, approaching the blonde at his locker. Nino quickly made himself scarce. Her former crush regarded her coolly.

"Sure, Marinette. What's up?"

"Umm… It's just that…," Marinette steeled herself and looked him straight in the eye. "Could you find someone else to go to the concert with? I wanted to take Luka. I even got tickets from Jagged Stone himself!"

Adrien frowned. "You said you wouldn't get in the way of our dates," he reminded her.

"I'm not—that's not—that doesn't mean you get to go on all the good ones!" she sputtered.

"Not all of them," Adrien agreed, turning away. "Just the concert. There'll be others. And since you know Jagged so well, you shouldn't have a problem getting tickets to the next one, right?"

She wanted to scream again. _Yes, she probably could get tickets if she asked for them, but by then, Luka would've already chosen Adrien!_

"You're not being fair," she said, glaring at him.

"What's the old saying? 'All's fair in love and war?'" he quipped, grabbing his books for his next class. To her dismay, he gave her a cheeky grin. "Sorry, princess. I want this too much to back down."

Marinette clenched her fists. _Princess? How __**dare**__ he! That nickname was reserved for handsome cat superheroes only!_

"You could _literally_ have _anyone_ else you wanted, Adrien!" she burst out. "Why Luka? Why my boyfriend?!"

"He's not yours," he shot back. "At least, not _just_ yours. And I like him, okay? He gets me."

"He _gets_ you?! He's nothing _like_ you! If you want someone who _gets_ you, why don't you go date Kagami again or something?!"

"Kagami and I are just friends."

"YOU STUPID, _OBLIVIOUS_—"

"What's going on in here?!" Mrs. Mendeliev stuck her head in the locker room. "Quit yelling at each other and get to class, or I'll give you both detention!"

Marinette stepped away from Adrien. The teacher left.

"I don't expect you to understand," Adrien said quietly. "You have a loving family. Friends you can see every day. Luka's the one thing I have to look forward to each day. I can't lose him." He gathered his books and shut his locker. "I'm sorry."

"You think I don't understand?" Marinette asked, her voice just as soft. "You think I don't know about loneliness, just because _my_ dad's not a workaholic?" He opened his mouth to argue, but she raised her chin. "You think I don't know about fighting for something I want with everything I have?! Fine. 'All's fair in love and war,' right? Well, up until now, I've just been playing. Consider this my declaration of _war_!"

She spun on her heel and stomped off to class.

Adrien blinked after her. Inside his shirt, Plagg started cackling.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 – The Race**

Marinette's foot tapped against the floor nervously.

_Two minutes._ She could tell, from the nervous glances Adrien was shooting her way, he was planning to go to Luka as soon as the bell rang too. Her fist clenched.

A race, then. Winner takes all.

_That conniving, selfish, gorgeous piece of sunshine and happiness was going to regret he'd ever crossed __**her**__! _She closed her eyes as she rethought that statement.

_Marinette,_ she shook her head at herself, _you have got to get over this crush! Don't think about how he was giving you puppy-dog eyes all of this and last period—like he wanted to apologize for everything we yelled at each other in the locker room—don't think about how many times you've wanted to apologize to him these past few weeks! This is __**war**__! You need to be strong! Stop thinking about his gorgeous eyes and GET IT TOGETHER! __**FOCUS!**_

_One minute._ She had a plan. Her hand clutched her purse. _Oh, how she wished she would've thought to text him before lunch ended!_ Luka never even _checked_ his phone until he'd decompressed from school, and he'd gotten it taken away too many times to try to use it during class.

No, the fastest, surest way to ask him was to do it in person.

She just had to get there first!

"Marinette," Alya whispered, having been alerted to the situation, "you do realize he has a _car_…."

_BRRING!_

She shot out of her seat and raced down the stairs, just as Adrien stood up. Casually, her hand 'caught' on his bag and flung it to the ground, spilling its contents everywhere.

"Oops! Sorry, Adrien!" she called behind her. "Accident! Good luck getting all your stuff together!"

"CHEATER!" Adrien hollered after her, frantically picking up papers and shoving them back into his bag. But Marinette was already leaping down the stairs and out the courtyard, heading for the doors.

She heard a clattering behind her and turned just enough to see Adrien barreling down the stairs, an angry look on his face. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the outside door on her way out, flicking the lock so it would lock behind her, then she threw it shut as she sprinted through it. It slammed shut behind her, the lock clicking into place.

_There, that should buy her a minute. _

She took off down the street again.

"Marinette!" Tikki scolded once they were finally clear, flying up to float in front of her while she ran down street after street.

"What?! All's fair in love and war!" Marinette said cheerfully.

"Yes, but—" Tikki gasped and hid from sight.

Marinette looked over her shoulder. Her stomach dropped when she saw Adrien's car, coming up behind her, fast. Adrien rolled down the window and waved to her as he passed by. She growled at the smirk on his face.

_She'd never beat him like this!_

_Well, __**Marinette**__ couldn't._

She dove into an empty alleyway.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Moments later, Ladybug was swinging over the rooftops, far faster than anyone could run, and unhindered by that pesky little thing called traffic. She sternly resisted the urge to blow Adrien a kiss as she flew into the lead again, landing beside the houseboat in less than a minute. And then she was Marinette again, gleefully ignoring her glowering kwami and headed down below to her boyfriend's cabin.

"Luka! Luka!" she called.

"Hey, Marinette," came the easy reply. Luka's eyes brightened as soon as he saw her. "Did your school get out early or something?"

"No, no… I just couldn't wait to give you… this!" she said, brandishing the tickets. "Two backstage passes to Jagged Stone's next concert tomorrow night!"

"Oh, wow!" Luka said, delighted. "This is amazing! I've—"

"NO!" came a pissed snarl. Marinette and Luka turned to see Adrien panting in the doorway. He stomped up to Marinette. "No way! How did you get here before me! I _saw_ you on the street when I passed you!"

"Just lucky, I guess," she shrugged.

"And my bag?! That was dirty, Marinette!"

"That was just my natural clumsiness."

"And the door?!"

"Must've been the wind."

"YOU—"

"Guys, guys!" Luka said, getting in between them. "I thought you said you weren't gonna do this anymore!"

"Tell that to _her_!" Adrien sputtered.

"Me?! _You're_ one to talk, Mr. All's fair in love and war!" Marinette shot back.

"ENOUGH!" Luka shouted. Marinette and Adrien both froze as he sank onto his bed, his head in his hands. "Okay, I get it. Obviously, this isn't going to work."

"No, it _is_, Luka!"

"_I'm_ just fine, but _she_—!"

Luka sighed, effectively shutting them up again. He looked at Adrien. "I take it you got some tickets to the concert tomorrow night, too?" he said.

Adrien sheepishly held them up.

Luka gazed at slips of paper for a moment. "Well, I can't go with either of you," he said resignedly. They both started to protest, but he held up his hand. "Unless—we all go together. As _friends_," he emphasized.

"Just… friends?" Marinette said weakly, slumping backwards. _Oh no. No, not again…._

Luka nodded. "I don't know what I was thinking, trying to date you both," he confessed. "You're both far too good for me. And I hate that this competition has turned you against each other. So, I—"

"Luka, no," Marinette said quietly. He was right. This had gone on long enough. "You should go with Adrien."

"No, no, you got here first," Adrien said, shaking his head and also looking ashamed. "You go, Marinette."

"You're not going to have many opportunities like this," Marinette protested, turning to Adrien. "I can get us tickets to the next concert."

"And I'm sure Chloé convinced my father to go along with this just to spite you," he argued. "I need to stop letting her do this kind of thing anyway."

Luka muffled a chuckle. "So, now… nobody wants to go?" he asked, amused.

"Of course I want to go!" Marinette said.

"It's Jagged Stone!" Adrien added.

"So, all three of us?" Luka asked hopefully. "As friends? No dates required?"

Adrien and Marinette glanced at each other. Then, at the same time, they both held their hand out as a sign of truce. Giggling a bit at their synchronized thoughts, they shook on it. Luka grinned at them and they both pulled away, their faces flushed.

"Soo, Jagged Stone," Luka said, trying to ease the awkwardness in the room. His eyes widened. "Wait, backstage passes? We're going to _meet_ him?! Oh my God, what should I wear?!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – A Lonely Little Kitty**

The next day found Adrien in his room. Again.

_Alone_. Again.

He bit back a snarl and twirled his foosball knob a little too hard; the ball went flying. Plagg pounced on it, playfully snarling and biting the 'escaping prey.' Ordinarily, the catlike display would've made Adrien laugh, but now… he just sighed.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" Plagg asked, still curled around his 'kill.'

"I'm not going," Adrien said shortly, grabbing another ball and starting the game again.

"Eh? Why not?"

"_Marinette_," Adrien snarled, abandoning his game to throw himself into his computer chair. "If he wanted to date _her_, why didn't he just _say_ so? Why get my hopes up?!"

"Maybe 'cause he likes you too?" Plagg said drolly.

"Yeah, right," Adrien muttered. "He was probably just being nice. Nobody likes me. Not in the way I want them to."

"Ugh! I don't wanna _hear_ about any of that mushy stuff!"

"I know, Plagg," Adrien sighed, leaning his head back against his chair. _No, no, it was better this way. Luka and Marinette deserved to be happy. And if they were happy together… Ugh! His heart hurt! It was hard to breathe it hurt so bad! Why couldn't he be enough for somebody, just once in his life?! Just him! Not his family name or pretty face, just—_

"_Adrien,"_ Nathalie called through the door. _"You have a visitor."_

Adrien shot to his feet. "I do?!"

To his complete shock, Luka walked through the door, giving him a little wave. "Hey."

"H-hey," Adrien stammered back, trying not to swallow his tongue and fighting back a blush. It was hard, though. The other boy looked… _delicious_.

Skin-tight jeans and combat boots, a backpack slung casually over his shoulder, his usual white Jagged shirt, but his hoodie had been replaced with a sleeveless leather jacket and fingerless gloves… Luka looked every inch like a punk rocker. And he made it look _good_.

_I am so gay,_ Adrien thought and snapped his mouth shut, fully aware that he might've been drooling.

"You like?" Luka asked, giving him a turn to show off the awesome embroidery on the back of the jacket. It spelled out "Rock 'n Roll" in an ombre of blue thread and tiny silver jewels.

"It's amazing!" Adrien said honestly. "You look amazing!"

"Thanks!" Luka said, blushing. Adrien could barely resist the impulse to throw his arms around him and kiss him for looking so— "Marinette made it for me!"

Adrien clenched his fists and looked away. _Good feeling's gone._ He steeled himself and took a deep breath to continue the compliments. She really had done a good job, after all.

"And she made one for you too!"

"What?!" Adrien squawked, his head shooting up. Luka had taken off the backpack and was fishing something out of it. Automatically, Adrien drew closer, his curiosity getting the better of him.

His mouth went dry when Luka handed him a folded jacket. It looked just like Luka's, except the embroidery was a vivid emerald green with gold jewels, instead of Luka's blues and silvers. Same theme, though, right down to the font. They were obviously a matched set.

"It's beautiful," he breathed.

"Well?" Luka laughed. "Try it on!"

Adrien quickly obeyed, shrugging out of his usual white jacket and slipping the new black one on. The leather was soft and supple, and fit him perfectly. He marveled at it, turning so Luka could see the full effect.

"Nice. _Nice_," Luka said, nodding and grinning. He bit his lip and looked like he was going to say more, but decided not to.

"Where's Marinette?" Adrien asked, looking behind Luka to see if she'd come too. "I should thank her."

"She had to finish some last-minute touches on her own jacket," Luka said. "She said she'd meet us there."

Adrien smiled at the thought of all of them at the concert tonight wearing matching outfits. It was a far cry from the tense rivalry he and Marinette had been clinging to before now. And honestly, he preferred this. If he couldn't have Luka as a romantic interest, at least he still got to keep him as a friend, right?!

And it'd be nice to hang out with Marinette again. He hated being angry with her all the time.

"I knew you'd like it," Luka was saying, looking at himself in the mirror. "We all have such similar tastes, after all." He laughed. "You two mirror each other more than you think!"

Adrien gave a little laugh of his own. _Considering how amazing Marinette was, that was a pretty big compliment. He could never compare himself to her! After all, __**she**__ would never try to ditch them because the Not-Date was making her uncomfortable…._

He paused as a stray thought caught his attention. _That was exactly what __**he'd**__ been planning. But, if Luka was right and he and Marinette were more similar than either of them thought…._

"Wh-when did she say she'd meet us?" he asked hesitantly. _No, surely he was wrong…._

"Huh, you know, she didn't exactly say," Luka said, looking at his phone and frowning. He shrugged. "Probably right when it starts. She must be planning to meet us backstage or something."

Adrien bit his lip. He was right. Somehow, he was sure of it._ The problem was, how did he want to deal with it? Should he call her out? He didn't know __**why**__ he was so sure Marinette had planned for them to go together without her, he just was. Did he plead innocence and enjoy his alone-time with Luka? Even if the other boy had already decided that their relationship wasn't working? Should he—_

He shook his head. He might not be very experienced in the love department, but everything he'd ever read or watched had emphasized how important communication was in a relationship. If he allowed Marinette to trick them like this, it would be the same as lying to Luka himself.

—_But what if he was wrong? She __**could**__ be planning to meet them. He wasn't __**certain**__ she was lying…._

"Hey, Luka," he said, thinking fast. "Why don't we go pick her up ourselves? That—that would be cool, right? To go to a concert together in my limo?"

"Really?!" Luka exclaimed. "That would be awesome!"

Adrien chuckled a little bit as the other boy tried to regain his normal composure. All he needed was a quick word with his driver. The man grunted and nodded, heading out to bring the car around.

"Man, I still can't believe anyone lives here," Luka said, following him out into the foyer and looking around with a shudder. "It's too… clean."

Adrien snorted in laughter. Compared to the mess on the houseboat, yeah, anything would be 'too clean.'

"I think our parents have _slightly_ different tastes," he said in a dramatic mock-whisper.

"No kidding there," Luka chuckled. He turned to look at the portrait at the top of the stairs. When he turned to Adrien, his expression clearly said, "what the—?"

Adrien just shrugged. Sometimes, trying to explain his father was—

"Adrien, _what_ are you wearing?"

_Speak of the devil… _Adrien froze. That was _not_ the tone of approval. He quickly morphed his face into an innocent smile and turned to face his father. Fortunately, he had the perfect way to deal with _this_ situation.

"Marinette made it for me!" he said cheerfully. Gabriel's angry stride faltered.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng did? Let me see." Adrien turned slowly, so his father could see the design. Gabriel studied it, muttering to himself. "I can't have you walking outside wearing just anything after all. And some of these new-fangled punk-rock designs are little more than shabby—hmm. It's not perfect, could use some work around the shoulders… but acceptable, I suppose. Her embroidery is as exquisite as always. And you are?" He turned to Luka.

"Oh, Luka Couffaine, sir," Luka said respectfully, holding out his hand. Adrien thanked God that Luka was incredibly perceptive when it came to reading a room. He remained quiet and poised, and said nothing of them being boyfriends until recently. Adrien didn't know how his father would take _that_ kind of news.

"Yes, Miss Bourgeois mentioned you," Gabriel said, studying him as they shook hands. "You'll be looking after my son tonight, then?"

Adrien blinked back his surprise. _Had Chloé spun it so Luka was some kind of babysitter?! Ugh, Chloé!_ But Luka just laughed.

"Yes, sir," he said. "I'll keep him and Marinette out of trouble, I promise!"

"Ah, Miss Dupain-Cheng will be going with you as well?" Was it just him, or had his father's tone actually softened? "Excellent. Well, don't stay out too late, Adrien. And make sure to keep your phone on you at all times."

"Yes, sir," Adrien said obediently. With that, they left before the man could change his mind, getting into the waiting limo.

"Soooo," Luka said, glancing at Adrien sideways once the car had started down the road. "I'm guessing your dad doesn't know you're batting for the other team now?"

Adrien felt his shoulders slump. He should've known the other boy would catch onto that. His father had only approved of this whole thing after he'd heard Marinette would be involved. Obviously, Gabriel Agreste had taken a liking to the young designer.

"He's kinda old-fashioned," Adrien said slowly. "And I didn't wanna cause a fight when I don't really know…."

Luka gave him an encouraging smile. "You still like girls, then?"

"NO!" Adrien said quickly. Then he winced, remembering how his breath still caught whenever he looked at Ladybug. "I mean, yes…. I mean… I don't know." He groaned and buried his head in his arms.

Luka chuckled and patted his back. "I know just how you feel, buddy. But you do know bisexuality is a thing, right? You _can_ like both."

"I know," Adrien moaned. WHY DID EMOTIONS HAVE TO BE SO COMPLICATED?! "But, but… girls! They're so much trouble! And I—"

Luka burst out laughing. "What, are you saying _I'm_ not causing you trouble?" he asked, winking at the blond.

"No, you definitely are," Adrien muttered. "Especially wearing _that_." He eyed the leather vest again before having to look away.

"I would pretend I didn't hear that," Luka said, looking pleased, "but it was a serious boost to my ego. And…." He scooted closer to Adrien and wrapped an arm around his waist, kissing his temple. "You look incredibly sexy too, by the way," he murmured.

Adrien blushed. Then, before he could talk himself out of it, he reached up and pulled Luka back down, twisting up to catch the other boy's mouth with his own. Luka was startled at first, but quickly relaxed and kissed him back. Adrien's heart soared. Luka's lips were soft and tender, and his hand came up to stroke Adrien's cheek before giving a reluctant hum and pulling back.

"Oh, Adrien," he sighed. "You make a guy wish…."

"Wish that you had chosen me?" Adrien asked softly, hopefully.

Luka smiled and brushed the blond's bangs out of his eyes. "Wish that we could figure a way through all of this."

Adrien sighed and rested his head against Luka's shoulder. "Is _this_ all right, at least?" he asked.

Luka hummed and pulled him closer. "Of course." His rested his head on top of the blond's. Adrien felt himself relax, warm and content. Had he been in his suit, he would've been purring.

This. This was what he wanted. This was wonderful and beautiful, and… he really didn't want to let this go….

_Please…._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – A Lonely Little Lady**

Tikki buzzed around her head angrily, but Marinette ignored her, squeezing her giant cat pillow tighter.

"Marinette—" Tikki began for the thousandth time this evening.

"I'm not going, Tikki, and that's final," her wielder growled. "It's a perfect opportunity for them to be together and enjoy themselves, and I'm not going to ruin that! I shouldn't have interfered in the first place." She buried her face in the plush.

"But Jagged Stone invited _you_!" Tikki protested. "He wants to talk to you!"

"And I'll talk to him! Tomorrow. I'll say I caught a cold or something." _It'll even be believable, since my nose will probably be stuffed from all this useless crying,_ she added silently.

"Marinette—"

"My other option is to go and then spend the rest of the night avoiding them," Marinette snapped. "Sending little snapchats, saying I must've just missed them, I had to use the bathroom, I stopped to talk to someone… it sounds exhausting!"

"Or you could go and have a good time with your—"

"With my _**friends**_?" Marinette finished for her, sitting up and looking the kwami in the eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to steady all the rage she felt for that word. "Friends," she spat. "That's all I ever am. Marinette, the quiet one. Marinette, the dependable one. The shoulder to cry on. The one who'll go the extra mile and give you the shirt off her back if you ask her! Always the good _friend_. Did it never occur to you that I want more than that?!"

Her shoulder sagged and she felt hot tears drip down her cheeks. "Just once, I wanted to be the lover, not the friend. Somebody's Number One. I thought I'd found somebody to hold me. To kiss me. To _love_ me…." Her voice broke and she sobbed.

"Chat Noir loves you," Tikki pointed out.

"I can't love Chat," Marinette said miserably. "We can never get closer than what we are now. We can't even know each other's identities, can't go on dates… it's not fair to either of us. Not to mention how awkward akuma fights would get if we ever broke up…."

She took a deep breath. "I knew Adrien was a long shot, I knew it from the start," she said, wiping her tears away and glancing at her pictures. Most of the magazine posters had come down when they'd started their rivalry, replaced with pictures of her friends. She touched one of Kitty Section. "But I thought I had a chance with Luka!" She sighed and flopped onto her bed. "And they're both so wonderful, they went and left me for each other." She couldn't hold back a pitiful laugh at the irony.

"Oh, Marinette," Tikki sighed, patting her shoulder.

"I know," Marinette said, giving her kwami a wry smile. "And don't worry, Tikki, I won't get akumatized. They're good for each other. They'll be good together. God, they'll even _look_ good together," she added, biting her lip at the thought of the two hotties cuddling. She sighed again. "I just need a minute to step back and take myself out of the picture."

"_Marinette, you have some visitors!" _Maman called from downstairs.

"I have—WHAT?" Marinette squawked, springing into a sitting position on her bed. She felt the blood drain from her face when she heard Adrien and Luka's distinctive laughter coming from her kitchen. "They came _here_?!" she exclaimed. "Why would they come here?!"

"Obviously, to get you for the concert!" Tikki chirped, giggling as Marinette scrambled down the stairs from her bed.

"My, my, you two look so handsome!" Sabine was cooing.

"Thank you, ma'am! Marinette made them for us!" Luka said proudly.

_OH NO, THEY WERE WEARING THE JACKETS?!—Well, of course they were wearing the jackets, that was why she'd __**made**__ the jackets—but she didn't think her heart could TAKE __**seeing**__ them in the jackets!_

"Since you're here, I simply must offer you some scones. Fresh from the oven?"

"Thank you, ma'am, but we really need to be going. We'll just pop upstairs and grab Marinette and be out of your hair," Luka said.

"Thank you, though!" Adrien added.

Marinette panicked.

_OH NO, OH NO, OHNO OHNONONO! THEY WERE COMING UPSTAIRS! THEY WERE COMING TO GET HER! SHE WASN'T THE LEAST BIT READY, AND SHE—_

"Hey, Marin—" Luka trailed off as he reached the top of her stairs, taking in Marinette's appearance. His eyes narrowed and Marinette fought the urge to blush. She'd put on her pajamas, intent on calling it a night and emphasizing her intent to not go to the concert.

"H-h-hi, Luka," she stammered, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. Adrien also entered her room, staring at her in a similar fashion.

They knew.

_OH GOD, JUST KILL ME NOW._

"H-hi, Adrien, you're here too," she laughed nervously. "I was just up _so_ late working on your jackets last night, that I decided to take a quick nap before the show and… lost track of time?"

From the looks on their faces, they didn't believe a single word. But Adrien suddenly brightened and gave her his model smile.

"Of course, Marinette," he said, way too cheerfully. "That makes sense! Hey, since I'm in fashion, I can help you pick out an outfit to go with your jacket, right? Luka, could you go ask Marinette's mom for those scones to go? If Marinette's still tired, a snack should perk her up. And I don't know about you, but they smelled delicious to me!"

Luka opened his mouth, looking like he was going to protest (or even call them both out), but he just sighed and nodded. "Sounds good," he said. "I'll be back to help you style your hair if you want, Marinette."

"O-okay!" Marinette said, trembling a little bit at the thought of being alone with Adrien. God knows, the last time had _not_ gone well. They waited until Luka's head disappeared beneath the trap door before either of them moved.

Marinette dashed to her closet as Adrien's fake smile morphed into a scowl.

"So-oo, outfits?" she suggested, her voice a bit higher than normal. "I was thinking either red or pink to compliment your guys's jackets—it really looks good, by the way, that green really brings out your eyes—"

"You were planning to ditch us the whole time, weren't you?!" he said quietly, stepping closer so Luka wouldn't be able to hear them.

"WHAT?!" she exclaimed innocently, not looking at him. "Why would I ever—?"

"You're not fooling anyone!" Adrien snarled. "You weren't even gonna show up!"

Marinette froze at his condemning tone, her earlier hurt and loneliness giving her heart a squeeze. She spun on him.

"If you _knew_ that, why didn't you just _go_?" she hissed angrily.

"Because, believe it or not, Luka and I wanted to spend time with you!" he spat back.

"Oh please!" she said, rolling her eyes. "You may have the world fooled, Agreste, but you and I both know you'd much rather be dating Luka all by yourself!"

"I'd much rather Luka be _happy_! Whether it's with me _or_ you," Adrien snarled, coming closer with every word, until he was towering over her.

Marinette stood her ground, refusing to be intimidated.

"Well, he'll be happy with _you_," she said hotly. "There. You satisfied? You won. Now go enjoy yourself already!"

"And you don't think he'll be a little hurt, knowing you tricked him like this?!" Adrien exclaimed.

"Then you'll have a perfect opportunity to _comfort him!_" Marinette snarked, a few treasonous tears falling onto her cheek. She spun away from Adrien. "I'm done chasing after unobtainable guys. You two belong together."

Adrien was silent for a moment, and then a hand tentatively touched her shoulder.

"Marinette," he said softly. "I really didn't mean to hurt you. I just… got caught up in all of this, I guess." He gave a humorless little laugh. "I guess I just wanted—so desperately—for someone to love me… and I thought Luka might be that guy. Ugh, I must seem so pathetic to you—"

Marinette couldn't help it, she burst into helpless, sobbing laughter.

"No more pathetic than I am," she wailed. "The two guys I fell in love with decided to date each other instead of me!"

She realized what she'd just said at the same time Adrien did.

"What?"

She froze, and then whirled, hoping to turn around and see that he hadn't actually heard her… instead, she was greeted by the gobsmacked look on his face.

"I-I didn't just say that!" she stammered, backing up. "Ignore everything I just said!"

"You—Marinette…," Adrien said, his voice trailing off. From the thoughtful look on his face, she could tell he was going through every one of their interactions, and slowly putting the pieces together.

Great. Not only would she lose the two most important boys in her life, but she'd be humiliated too! There was no way Adrien wouldn't rub this in her face after everything she'd done to him!

Marinette sank to the floor, curled up in a ball, and sobbed.


End file.
